Charlie Parker – With Strings

Back in the day, every jazz player wanted strings. Very few warranted it, or could make it work. Charlie Parker was the exception. The music here is simply sublime. “Just Friends” is transportive. Bird’s playing is so fleet, so delicate, and yet so commanding. His problems—and his equipment—often made it challenging to understand what an agile and truly pretty player he could be. Here, his notes are raindrops atop the roof of the music in a beautiful summertime. Simply sublime.